Science Buddies: "Ask an Expert"

Hi! I have a few questions regarding sleep that I'm curious about! I did a research project at the end of my school year, so I'm not completely clueless, but nevertheless please feel free to go into extensive detail- I'm a big fan on information!

When we sleep, I know we go into paralysis that stops us from moving. However, the position I'm in when I fall asleep isn't the same as when I wake up. Are we only paralyzed during certain stages of sleep or do we slightly wake up and become semi-conscious in between sleep cycles? (to an extent that we can move)

Also, I came across some information that says we need 5-6 sleep cycles per night, and each cycle only lasts 90 minutes; so you basically need 9 hours of sleep. Is this true? Everywhere else I've seen has given any answer except for 9 hours.

Why do we need different amounts of sleep from person to person? Not just from young to old, but from people who are the same age, too.

Thank you!

Hello, The Ask the Expert forums are for students in grades K-12 who are doing science projects. The experts do not answer general questions. If you are doing a science project, please describe your project in more detail, including your hypotheses and the design of your experiments. Thank you.

Okay, allow me to clarify.
In my 8th grade year, I did a research project about sleep, which left me very curious. When the time came to take on summer assignment for freshman year, I chose to do it over sleep. The overall question is "If subjects get controlled amounts of sleep, can those amounts benefit them in different ways?" My hypothesis believes that to be true. I'll go about performing the experiment by giving subjects controlled amounts of sleep, and seeing what impact it has on them. I wanted to make sure I had good information about the subject, so I thought I'd 'Ask the Experts'. I need the answers to my questions to make sure I account for the proper variables, use the best timing, and make sure my test subjects are indeed similar the way I think they are.
I hope that explains everything you needed to know!

Hello and thank you for clarifying your project. The questions which you are asking are good questions and you will definitely need to do some research to answer those questions in order to write the background for your project report, set up your experiments, and understand and analyze your results. We here at Science Buddies can't do that research for you, in fact, doing that research is actually part of the scientific process for your project!

Science Buddies does have some useful resources to help you. Look at some of these topics:

https://www.sciencebuddies.org/science- ... mpetitions

Also, since you propose to include human subjects, you will need to consider the human subjects review requirements for the science fair you plan to enter. Here's a link to get you started, but you should also work closely with your teacher to make sure you satisfy your school's requirements as well.

https://www.sciencebuddies.org/science- ... egulations
https://www.sciencebuddies.org/science- ... mittee-src

These links should help you get started. Also, browse around the other links at the Science Buddies project guides.

Best wishes with your project. Let us know how your project develops!